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Tropical Storm Bill Has Landed, North Texas Under Flood Watch

Tropical Storm Bill made landfall along the Texas coast at about noon. The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the storm had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph Tuesday morning as it crossed the shores of  Matagorda Island, northeast of Corpus Christi.

The National Weather Service says average rainfall through Wednesday evening for portions of Texas will be 3 to 6 inches but there could be as much as 12 inches in some isolated areas.

“Keep in mind that the grounds are still fairly wet, so any heavy rainfall is likely to result in flash flooding,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Jason Dunn told KERA.

Most of North Texas is under a Flash Flood Watch. The city of Dallas will hold a briefing at 3:30 p.m. on possible street closures and evacuations.

All areas and roads flooded during the May storms will mostly experience the same for the upcoming rainfall, the City of Dallas said on its website, and streets closed in May will most likely be closed for extended period tomorrow night.

"City crews will pre-stage street barriers and devices starting Tuesday morning in anticipation of road closures," according to the city. 

The storm will produce 3 to 6 inches of widespread rain with some locations receiving 6 inches to one foot of water before subsiding. The greatest threat of flooding in North and Central Texas is scheduled for midnight tonight through noon tomorrow. Tornados are also possible overnight. 

For the month of June, normal rainfall is 3.79 inches but this could well be exceeded in the next 48 hours, the weather service says.  

Last month’s flooding led to more than 30 deaths in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Texas climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon says May was the wettest month on record for the state, with an average rainfall of nearly 9 inches.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Former KERA staffer Krystina Martinez was an assistant producer. She produced local content for Morning Edition and KERANews.org. She also produced The Friday Conversation, a weekly series of conversations with North Texas newsmakers. Krystina was also the backup newscaster for the Texas Standard.